Octopus Heads
by eleda61
Summary: Grace Hemmington sees everyone with an "octopus head" as she calls them. Find out what happens when her life goes beserk because of them! I'm open for suggestions!*wink wink nudge nudge* My first fanfic! I'm no good at summarys! Bear with me on this one!
1. Glow

**Chapter 1-Glow**

Everyone I see has an "octopus head" as I call them.

Each person, letter and number has its own color.

This is because of chemical-stuff or whatever. I'm no good at remembering what the website says.

Each person's name has a different color and texture. When I hear their name a blob of that color with that texture appears floating in the air about three feet in front of me.

For instance, my name is Grace and when I hear my name, I see a silver blob that looks like silk. But if I hear someone say the name Grace and they're not talking about me, I see a different color entirely.

The "octopus head" thing does have to do with this.

Each person has chemicals floating around them. These chemicals sort of form tentacles that float out of their head. Thus the name "octopus heads".

These tentacles are there but they are invisible. It is because of my gift with some long, scientific name that I can't pronounce that I can see them. Each person's chemical/tentacles have the same color and texture as their name to me. So when someone is encouraging me, one of their tentacles will come out and touch me on the shoulder. You can't feel this, but I can see it.

With this "gift" I can tell when people are lying because the color will fade slightly but noticeably. I can tell if people are excited when the color flares up and grows. I know if they are scared if their color shrinks, fades and begins to shake.

With letters and numbers, I see them on the paper or on the board in whatever color they are written in and then over that I also see the color I have attached to it.

I don't know what I'd do if my colors ever went away.

* * *


	2. Alone

I am the only one in my family with "colors". Or, I'm the only one that sees colors and textures connected with sounds. It's not much fun because nobody in my family knows. Knowing my mom, she'd think I had some sort of infectious disease.

So I choose not to tell anyone. Especially not after that time in first grade…

***

I was at the board doing a math problem and I've always had trouble with math so it was no surprise that I was having trouble with this one too. I was trying to stall and willing the bell to ring so no one would know that I had trouble with this when I saw some colored chalk that my teacher sometimes used sitting next to me. So I decided to put the numbers into their correct colors.

At this point, I thought everyone saw the colors that I did so I thought everyone would understand.

When I began copying the problem down, my teacher, Ms. Morris asked me what I was doing. I told her "I'm putting the numbers in their right colors." "Now Grace," said Ms. Morris, "We don't have time for silly games. Just do 12 times 3 and go back to your seat." I replied by saying "But don't all the numbers have colors?" I was confused. I turned to my classmates to back me up.

When I looked out at the class, I saw people whispering to each other and snickering. I could feel myself heating up. I didn't know what to do. My teacher, thinking I was sick and hallucinating, called my parents and had them take me home.

They took me to the doctor and he claimed there was nothing wrong with me.

So I went home and sat in my room and pondered why no one else saw my colors.

***

My grandma saw them.

I remember dancing with her in the living room to music and talking about how beautiful the colors are from all the sounds of the instruments.

So, now, seven years later, the day after summer vacation started, I am going on the computer to find out something about what's happening to me.

I'm sure there'll be someone else.


	3. Synthetia

I like being able to know what people are feeling and who they're trying to help.

I like knowing if someone is lying. I can never get cheated.

I like being able to know in the blink of an eye if I really scared my mom with the fake hand or if she was faking it.

Nobody can hide from me.

Everyone leaves a trail of color behind them.

I can trace their trail and know exactly where they went.

Hide-and-Seek is boring.

I'm wondering what would happen if I told someone as I type in my symptoms on some doctors website.

As soon as I hit the "What do I have?" button, a page pops up that says "YOU HAVE SYNTHETIA".

Synthetia?

What's that?

Now I'm confused.

I thought I'd get something like, "YOU'RE MENTALLY ILL. GO FIND A THERAPIST." Or something like that.

But Synthetia?

I read on.

"Synthetia is a gift not a disease. Many people think that they are insane and go to therapists with their "problems". But Synthetia is something to be proud of.

There are many different types of Synthetia. Some include seeing people's colors as tentacles coming out of their heads. Or see blobs of colors with sounds and see letters and numbers in color. Others connect taste with words, letters, numbers and sounds. And others feel things when they hear a word or sound or see a letter. Some people have a few of these symptoms combined.

Do something with your gift.

Here are some links to chat rooms and community sites with other people like you:

.net/s/46680/chat

.net/8465/communicate

Those are some of the many sites you can visit to talk with people like you. You can also Google "Synthetia chat rooms" or "Synthetia communities" for some other sites like these.

I clicked away from this site as my mom walked into the room with my lunch and pretended to be sending an email to one of my friends.

I wasn't ready to tell her yet.

I needed time to think things through.


End file.
